Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Aaah.  Eleven whole days off, in a row, without middle schoolers spending six hours a day tap dancing on my brain. 

Monday, December 20, 2010

Raise your hand if...you'll be getting a root canal, a root canal, on December 23, instead of baking Christmas goodies.   I cracked a tooth at lunch today, went to the dentist hoping to get a ginormous filling and instead, got an appointment for my third root canal.  Ugh.

Friday, December 17, 2010


I just found this site and I have only two words to say.

OH.

MY.


I ask you, is it wrong to  be wrapped in my fluffy bathrobe and slippers at 4:55 p.m.? TGIF.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

There's No Place Like Home...

G'morning. I'm home from work today and it feels so good to be here. :)

As the days are winding down towards Christmas, time is running out for those handmade gifts, so here I am.   I'm doing two large signs, larger than usual; they're both about 36" long.  I'm excited to get them done, and worried that they won't be exactly right!  (what else is new, though).

I went out earlier to turn the heater on in my studio...the temp inside was only 30!  It will take about two hours to get warm enough for me to work out there, so I'll have to linger over my coffees.  Oh darn. :)

And what are you doing today?

Friday, December 10, 2010

I did it.  I officially started Christmas shopping yesterday.  Impressed? Don't be.  I had a bad dream that Christmas came and went and that my entire family had nothing under the tree.  So off I went to the dreaded mall with $500 in my purse.  Today I have $10 in my purse.  Ouch.

Dear Santa...please bring me someone who will shop for me.  Thanks.  Oh, and a new car, too.  Thanks again.  Love, Me.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Should I Have Started Shopping Yet?!

Raise your hand if...you have NOT even begun your Christmas shopping, and you hate doing it under pressure, but there are only 17 days left (16 because I'm home for the night) and NOT doing it stresses you out, but actually doing it stresses you out, too, and there are a total of  18 people on your list, not counting people you work with!!  Ugh.  Me, too.

But on a lighter note, I did get myself a pair of shoes yesterday. (I'm missing something this season, aren't I?)

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Raise your hand if...you need to get the heck OFF the computer, into the shower, then into bed!!  G'night!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

New Puppy

Oh yeah, on a cheerier note...this is my son and his family's new puppy, Bella!  Is she not ADORABLE??!!  She's a seven-week old female golden retriever.   You really can't feel too bad when you hold a puppy, can you?
Raise your hand if...you're feeling overwhelmed, too busy with life to enjoy living, and out of breath, figuratively speaking.  Yeah, me too.

I am grateful to have a job that I enjoy with people I truly like, but between work and taking care of family, I seem to have gotten lost in there somewhere.  Add to that the holiday season which piles more responsibility on top of the other, and I'm already running on reserve power.   Somewhere along the way, I have to remember to fill my soul...right now, not doing such a great job at that.

I hope you are feeling more peaceful than I am and that you are remembering to fill your soul! 

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Potato Panic

Raise your hand if...you did all of your Thanksgiving shopping yesterday (got a jump on it, didn't I?), but, you FORGOT THE POTATOES!!  Who forgets potatoes for Thanksgiving??  That's like forgetting the chocolate for Easter, the stockings for Christmas, the pumpkins for Halloween?  Who does that??  Evidently I do.

Luckily, our Walmart is in the process of turning itself into a Super Walmart and hark...they had potatoes!  As much as I don't like buying food at a  large department store, in a potato panic, I did.  

Don't forget to listen to Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" tomorrow!  That's one of our favorite traditions...we all stop what we're doing and listen intently, cracking up as we go.  My husband and I have actually been to the site of the original Alice's Restaurant in Stockbridge, MA.  But unlike the song, you can't get anything you like...we wanted a cheeseburger but they were vegetarian.  Oh how times change...nothing is sacred, not even Alice's Restaurant.

Happy Thanksgiving friends.  
May you be blessed in having those you love close at hand. 

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Raise your hand if...while you were putting on your mascara this morning, you used a straight pin to separate your lashes and you STUCK THE PIN IN YOUR OWN EYE!!  I didn't think so!

Ow.

Note to self...leave your lashes alone.

Of course those are my real lashes in the photo!  Why do you ask?  not.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

New Selling Blog

Hi there.  Well, in the style of Belle from Tales From a Loser, I've gone and added another blog to my life.  My Cottage Crafts will be opening soon.

I've decided to start a "selling blog", a place where I can share all of the crafts I create out there in my little studio.  It's still a work in progress as they say, but I'm excited to get moving on it.  As often as time allows, I'll be in my new "shop" fine-tuning things.

Come by and visit, and I'll keep you posted.  Grand opening soon. :)  (I'll bring the chocolate chip cookies and coffee!)

Friday, November 12, 2010

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Raise your hand if...you have tomorrow off and hope to, I mean, plan to, spend the day painting signs for Lori.  :)  Me too!  I'll be turning my heater on in the morning and hopefully getting out into my cottage right after breakfast. 

The air is good and chilly, the wind is blowing, the leaves are 99% down, and the sky has that deep grayish-purple that only comes around in the fall.   I love it.  How is it where you are? 

Friday, November 5, 2010

T.G.I.F.  
I hope you can all enjoy a peaceful weekend! 

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Raise your hand if...you've been negligent in blogging AND in blog reading!  Yeah, me too.  Plus, work is crazy, we have two vehicles with great big REJECTION stickers on them, my van keeps refusing to start at random times with no prior warning, Cate's car continuously overheats for no apparent reason, and Chelsea's truck is on the flat bed this very moment being brought home because it just shut the heck off while she was on the highway.  Great.  One vehicle that works well, with the four of us having to go in different directions for work.

Another day in Paradise!!  At least tomorrow is Friday. :) 

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Raise your hand if...you slept with the AIR CONDITIONER on last night because of the outrageous humidity and high temperature, but now, you need the HEAT ON in the house because the temps are dropping so fast!!  

Here in New England, they say that if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

A Few Photos

This is a small wall area that I've decided to decorate just the way I want. :)  I painted the sign specifically for here.  I painted an old shelf black, distressed it, added a few of the wonderful smelling "pantry cakes" that I made, some primitive grungy candles, a few wooden spools, and a special family photo.
This is a close-up of the frame beneath the shelf.  It's a loon feather that floated to me while I was standing on the dock in Vermont that I mounted on a cream colored linen-y fabric.

 I just happen to really like this sign!  I'm going to send it off to the craft fair to hopefully sell it, but if not, I'm keepin' it!
 Another smaller sign that I finished last weekend, also headed to the craft fair.
I did these three today; I'm a little iffy on the light colored one, but they're heading to the craft fair, too.  I just have to add wire, and possibly a fabric bow or three.

This is a little peek of one end of my cottage.  It's where I tend to hang all of the projects I've finished.  The rubber boots are all of the "mud boots" that my daughters wore as wee ones. :)

And for the grand finale... I'm "pleased" to introduce  Audrey Hepburn (aka Colleen) and Snooki (aka Cate).  Another proud mother moment, let me tell you.  For the record, they were headed to a Halloween party; they don't usually hang out dressed like this. :)

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Hi there.  Just checking out the "new editor" blogging thingamajig.  I've been having issues with font size, etc., so we'll see what happens here.


So...Bob and I made tried to make maple peanut butter today.  Quite messy, let me tell you.  We bought some up in Vermont a few weeks ago and it was wonderful, so I wanted to try and reproduce it.  Ours came out pretty good, but not as good as the other; it'll do though.


Cate (middle daughter) and I spent this afternoon at a two-hour Yoga Nidra session which was quite heavenly!  I realized something very important today which is this...Yoga is the only place in my life where I never say "I can't". 

I hope you're having a good Saturday and that you're enjoying fall...the smells, the sights, the feeling of getting ready to hunker down and rest for the winter, at least mentally. 

I'll leave you with a couple of autumn scenes.  




Thursday, October 21, 2010


T.
G.
I.
F.

...tomorrow!!

(ps...that's actually one of our 8th graders in front of the moon, cross my heart!)

This full moon has got the kids going out of their minds and us teachers teetering on the edge! It ain't pretty!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010


Hi there. I miss you! :)

I've been spending lots of time checking out stencils online and trying to decide if I should bite the bullet and buy an alphabet. I've always done my work freehand, but secretly lusted after the beautiful stencil work I see other people do. So...I did it. I not only ordered a complete alphabet, I also ordered one pre-cut stencil AND I had one custom made for me!! Now I'm excited waiting for them all to arrive in the mail!

The custom-made one was a little bit more expensive, but if I get lucky and sell at least two finished pieces, I'll make it back. Plus I get to have the knowledge that for now, I'll be the only person with that design.

(The top sign I made for my mom's birthday; she's Italian...hence, the Italian "Welcome Friends". The second sign I did for myself as that's what I always feel when I walk into my house.)

I've always struggled with creating things. I always thought I had to have a "reason", a "purpose", to create something, but finally, I've learned to create simply for the sake of creating. What a liberating way of thinking! Now I can simply get lost in what I'm doing with no pre-set idea of what "should" happen with it...I can just become enthralled with the act of creating it.

I'm doing my best to loosen the self-made chains I wear that force me to see something as "right" or "wrong"...I'm learning to see things as "perfect for this moment". Not so easy for an old broad, but worth it. :)

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Raise your hand if...you spent all day working in your bedroom, cleaning out/organizing drawers and packing up four bags of clothes for donation. And, raise your hand if you found old journals, photographs and mementos, and shed tears over many of the memories. Yeah, me too.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010


How's this for a little chuckle?!
Raise your hand if...you're driving around with a big, fat, RED rejection sticker on your van, if you would like a do-over for this past weekend, if you're too tired to even think, and if you haven't been keeping up on any blogging at all. Sigh. Yeah, me too.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Fall in Vermont

Hi there...we're back from our wonderful trip to Vermont. I had to get right back to work, but Bob is on vacation this week, so it'll take me awhile to get back in the groove. Til then, I'll share some photos with you. Enjoy. :)




Bob on the dock one afternoon.



Our view straight off the dock.





Morning mist.






Breathtaking.







Loon feather that found its way to me.




Someone needs a haircut!





Only about three days old.





Bob spending some peaceful time one morning.





They were on a dirt road while we were heading home.

Friday, October 1, 2010

My Brother the Stone Mason

Hi there. Before I high-tail it out of town, I wanted to share with you my brother's website and some of his stone work. I sometimes forget just how amazingly talented he is, especially considering the fact that he's always been "my (sometimes annoying) older brother". I forget to see him through other people's eyes, but when I remember, I am proud, speechless and amazed.

http://www.internationalstonemason.com/gallery.html

He just got back from doing stone work in Ohio where the newspaper came out and did a two-hour interview with him, as well as taking over 50 photos. I can't wait to read it!

He's actually the guy in the blue vest in the photos of the restored woodland wall in Chester, MA. That wall is out in the woods near my sister's house and if I'm not mistaken, he just did that one out in the woods "for relaxation". Talk about leaving something beautiful to behold when you leave!

Enjoy the photos. :)

TGIF!


Don't you just love that Fridays keep coming around?



We're off to Vermont this weekend and I am thrilled. Besides it being my favorite place, the temperature Saturday night is supposed to get DOWN to 29 degrees!!! I can't wait! There are also two harvest fairs and at one of them, the American Society of Dowsers will be doing demonstrations. As I am a dowser, I'll be that "strange woman" hanging around and observing!

I hope everyone has a safe, peaceful weekend.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Raise your hand if...you're feeling all betwixt and between and you can't quite figure out why. Yeah, me too. At least Ghost Hunters is on tonight. :)

On a good-feeling note, my husband and I met 32 years ago tonight; it was the night I first fell into his bright blue eyes and felt safe from the world. Who'd have thunk we'd still be together after all this time, four kids and one grandchild later. It hasn't always been easy, but it's always been worth it. ♥

Sunday, September 26, 2010

New Signs


Hi there. I do believe Fall has finally arrived! Chilly temps tonight~maybe even blanket weather. :)


Here are the signs that I started and finished this weekend. This is one of the things that I really love doing.























Saturday, September 25, 2010

Raise your hand if...this morning you had the air conditioner on because of the humidity, and tonight it's chilly as can be! Yup...gotta love this New England weather. "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute"!

I got to spend a few hours in my studio today which I really needed. I was able to get started on five different signs, three mini's and two larger ones. The largest one is for my living room and the others will find their way either to Etsy or a craft fair. We shall see. I'll try and get some photos up tomorrow or so.

I hope everyone is enjoying a peaceful weekend with people you love. :)

Friday, September 24, 2010

Wednesday, September 22, 2010


PS...I forgot to tell you this. I got my very first, very own, brand spankin' new iPhone yesterday!! Guess what else? I already need an iPhone intervention.
Hot, hot weather today which does NOT match the landscape. Many trees are already wearing their magnificent colors, some have piles of leaves under them, and the pumpkins are continuing to grow into their Halloween splendor. Where is that Autumn chill? Where is the smell of woodsmoke on the breeze? Where is my desire to make apple crisp?

Monday, September 20, 2010








Look what showed up in our yard tonight!










Saturday, September 18, 2010

Raise your hand if...you really should be in bed by now. Yeah, me too. 'Night. :)
Hi there. I just listed a few more pendants in my Etsy shop...you can see them in my Etsy sidebar thingy.

Also, my bff and I went to a beautiful craft fair today and I was inspired. I think I'll make a few sachets, some with lavender and some with balsam. I'll be listing them on Etsy as soon as I get them done. :)

I hope everyone is enjoying a peaceful weekend.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Almost Fall

Hi there and a good Friday evening to you. Just wanted to share a few backyard photos with you before I hit the hay.



My studio...I love the way the shadows lengthen as Fall approaches.



My garden is bursting!






One end of my studio...look at those flowers!








I think the flowers are called "turtleheads".






One pumpkin made it through the summer!







Ripening grapes with a most intoxicating scent.




Hope you have a wonderful weekend. :)

Here's to another Friday, heralding the onset of the weekend!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

A wolf spider decided that our main bathroom would be a great place to live! AAHHH!! What a way to start the day!! Luckily one daughter found it and another daughter killed it. (The third daughter just continued sleeping cutely on the couch, but that's ok. :)) I have a motto that if a spider sees me coming and hides, then it's waaay too smart for me, especially before 6 a.m.!! And so the day begins....

Monday, September 13, 2010

Primitive Pantry Cakes

Hi all. Well, I survived another Monday, and that's a good thing. I think that this year's crop of middle-schoolers is a lot less "trying" than last year's, thank heavens. I actually had enough energy to do a little craft work earlier this evening, and that's a great thing!

Here's another batch of the primitive pantry cakes I made over the weekend; tonight I wrapped them for the craft fair they're heading to. Their scent is absolutely wonderful...coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. Oh my. Too bad they're not for eating!








Everything smells so good when I'm working on them!
Dear 5:45 a.m. I don't like you, especially on a Monday morning.

Friday, September 10, 2010



Raise your hand if
...
you are beyond glad that it's Friday!! And then raise your hand if you just figured out how to play with all of the COOL font stuff on your blog!

And THEN raise your hand if...it's cold enough that you had to close the windows in the house!!